A Virtual Textbook for English 99

Welcome!

2010-08-18T18:56:00.002-07:00

Welcome to English 99! This will be our textbook for the Fall 2011 semester. Below you will find links to readings that will be assigned for homework and for reading and activities in class. Please check the course calendar (you can find this on BlackBoard) for due dates of assignments.

On the right hand side, you will also find links to our class BlackBoard page, links to writing and grammar resources, and a link to the CSUF Writing Center home page.

I hope that you enjoy these selections as much as I do, and feel free to browse through the sites that they are found on. Please note, however, that I am not liable for any content that you might find on these sites, nor do I necessarily endorse the opinions expressed on these websites.

I look forward to learning from all of you this semester!

Writing and Communication

2009-08-21T14:27:00.000-07:00

Rick Moody "The Joy and Enthusiasm of Reading"

Author Rick Moody's writes about his love of reading and his refusal to let teachers take that away from him.

Anne Lamott "Shitty First Drafts"

An excerpt from Lamott's book Bird by Bird in which she discusses her writing process.

The Onion "Fifth-Grade Science Paper Doesn't Stand Up to Peer Review

This article, from comedic faux newspaper The Onion, examines some fundamental elements of writing.

"How to Say Nothing in 500 Words" by Paul Roberts

Paul Robert's essay on how to make your writing interesting.

Kathryn Wilkens "Start Off Strong"

Wilkens offers advice to writers hoping to create a strong opening sentence.

"Getting Comfortable With Timed Essays"

A collection of articles that offer insights and strategies in approaching timed essay assignments.

Taylor Mali "Speak with Authority"

Taylor Mali's spoken word performance criticizes the most aggressively inarticulate generation to come along since, you know, a long time ago.

SMARTHINKING.com: "Writing For an Academic Audience"

A lesson from SMARTHINKING.com on how to write for an academic audience

David Sedaris "Me Talk Pretty One Day"

Sedaris recounts his experiences in learning French through an immersion program.

Jennie Bristow "Text Messaging: Take Note"

Bristow counters the argument that text messaging is grammatically destroying the English language.

Amy Tan: "Mother Tongue"

Amy Tan's short story about growing up bilingual.

Deirdre Mahoney "Attending to the Word"

Mahoney's proposal about how to change the way we think about reading.

Rachel Shofield "Reverence For Food"

An essay by a college writing student about how we should change the way we think about food.

Education

2009-08-21T14:06:00.000-07:00

Nancy Gibbs "Affirmative Action for Boys"

As the number of women in colleges and universities increases, Gibbs shows that men are now receiving some preferential treatment to help even the gap.

Inside Higher Ed: "Gender, Majors and Money"
A study that examines the gender income gap and its relation to college majors.

Trip Gabriel: "Lines on Plagiarism Blur For Students in Digital Age"
New York Times article that looks at the blurred lines of plagiarism in the digital age.

Joel Stein "Cheating: It's All American--And It's Great!"

Joel Stein, in his Time article, warns his readers of the "dangerous anticheating sentiments" that pervade American society.

Jason Stephens: "Justice or Just Us? What to Do About Cheating"

Stephens investigates why students cheat and what could be done to curb the trend.

Race and Gender in America

2009-08-20T17:22:00.000-07:00

Stephen Colbert The Colbert Report: Stephen R.A.P.S - Gender Issues

Colbert "answers" questions on gender from a small audience.

M.P. Dunleavy "A Breadwinner Rethinks Gender Roles"

Dunleavy, in a New York Times article, personally reflects and examines the rising amount of female "breadwinners."

Amy Dickinson "Bicultural Kids"
Dickinson visits the importance of stressing the biculturalism in bicultural kids.

Stephen Colbert "Ends Racism"
Comedian Stephen Colbert officially ends racism and offers a final farewell through a video montage.

Lee- St.John "Liking What White People Like"

Lee-St. John's Time article visits a pseudo-anthropological blog that mocks the habits and tastes of White people.

Sandra Tsing Loh "I Choose My Choice"

Loh's 2008 Atlantic article addresses the "fruits" of the Feminist Movement.

Pamela Paul "Are Fathers Necessary?"
Pamela Paul's 2010 article from The Atlantic about the perceived necessity of fathers in the family unit.

Jackie Robinson "Free Minds and Hearts at Work"

Robinson narrates his struggles and success in becoming MLB's first African American player in this 1952 essay for NPR's "This I Believe."

Emily Wylie "Mom Frets Over Son's Attachment to Baby Doll"

Wylie is initially bothered by her son's attachment to a "feminine" toy, despite her philosophical opposition to gender assigning.

Technology

2009-08-20T17:17:00.000-07:00

Alexandra Alter "Is This Man Cheating on His Wife?"

Alexandra Alter on the toll one man's virtual marriage is taking on his real one and what researchers are discovering about the surprising power of synthetic identity.

Nicholas Carr "Is Google Making Us Stupid"

Carr's 2008 Atlantic article questions whether our over reliance on the Internet to understand the world will "flatten" our own intelligence.

Jonathan D. Glater "Welcome, Freshmen. Have an iPod."
In his 2008 New York Times article, Glater examines the iPod's place in academia.

Jon Stewart The Daily Show: CNN's Magic Wall Conspiracy Theory

The Daily Show correspondent, John Oliver, takes a close look at technology used by CNN during the 2008 Election.

Steven Johnson "How Twitter Will Change the Way We Live"

Johnson's 2009 Time article examines Twitter's success based not only on what it is doing to us, but what we are doing to it.

Clive Thompson "Why We Need More Torture in Videogames"

Despite ardently opposing torture, Thompson calls for more, and better, torture in videogames.

Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. "Harrison Bergeron"
Vonnegut's 1961 chilling short story.

Entertainment

2009-08-20T17:05:00.000-07:00

Paul Begala, Tucker Carlson Crossfire: Jon Stewart

Jon Stewart criticizes Begala and Carlson on their own show about the responsibility of the news media to the public discourse.

Hirschorn "The Revolution Will Be Televised"

Hirschorn's 2008 Atlantic article addresses the growing need for change in the television industry, unless it wants to follow the same path as the cd.

Hemal Jhaveri "Searching for a Real Gay Man"

Jhaveri's essay exposes media's misrepresentation of homosexuals in television.

Stephen King "Why We Crave Horror Movies"

Stephen King, famed author, explains mankind's obsession with horror movies.

James Poniewozik "Why Reality TV is Good for Us"

Poniewozik refutes the claim that Reality TV is poison, saying instead it has revised the television narrative and re-created "water cooler buzz."